Lib Novel Page 79
Her lips tilt into a sly smile. “Did you show him how to clean up his act?”
A sharp bite of laughter bursts out of me. “Cute.”
She tilts her head and lifts one shoulder.
“Sounds like your week was rougher. You want to talk about it?”
“No.” She reaches across the table and slides her warm hands over mine. “But being with you has already lifted some of the darkness.”
Usually I bring the darkness wherever I go. How did taking her out make things better? Fuck it, the warmth in my chest doesn’t care.
I stare into her pained eyes. “Babies and kids.” She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “They’re the hardest. When bad things happen to innocent people…” Her voice trails off and she drops her gaze to the table.
The pain in her voice is real and I don’t know what to do to make it better.
“Whatever happened,” I say, “I hope karma deals with them accordingly.”
A slightly unhinged smile curves Margot’s lips for the briefest second. “Karma takes too long for my taste, sometimes.”
If I didn’t know how sweet she is, that statement might be unsettling.
Margot
Being with Jigsaw tonight feels like holding open a curtain that keeps the light pouring in, so I can’t drown in the darkness of the week.
My murderous plans come to me in bits and fragments in between our conversation. It has to be quick and unfortunately somewhat painless. It can’t be bloody.
By the time we finish our pizza and wings, I think I have a plan.
Jigsaw swipes his napkin over his mouth. “You good?”
When I nod, he collects our plates and pizza tray. “I need to talk to Remy for a minute. Are you all right here?”
“Sure.” I frown at him. “Are you clearing the table?”
He shrugs. “I’m going that way, anyway. Might as well save Lynette the trouble.”
How can he look so scary on the outside but be so thoughtful? Not only to me but others as well.
What does this outing mean? We were only supposed to be about sex. Well, teaching me about sex. As soon as I told him I wasn’t up for it tonight, I expected him to leave. Not be mean about it, but I certainly didn’t think he’d stick around. That’s not what our relationship is about, so I wouldn’t have been mad. But he took me out for dinner and light conversation instead.
Lynette swings by our table and sets a white box in the middle. “Some cookies to go. Dark chocolate chip, and white chocolate chip pecan.”
“Oh, wow. Those sound amazing.” I pull my purse into my lap. “Do you have our check?”
She waves her hand through the air like it was a silly question. “He already took care of it.” She leans down and whispers in my ear, “He’s a keeper, honey.”
My body freezes, except my mouth, which twitches into a hesitant smile. She winks and heads for the kitchen.
He’s a keeper.
Why do I suddenly wish that were true? When I know it can’t be.
He made it clear from the beginning that he wasn’t mine to keep.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jigsaw